English opens doors...for whom?: an ethnography exploring the tensions between English language policy creation, implementation and students' expectations

This dissertation looks to explore the ways in which social actors make meaning about the role of English language policy in the current global and neoliberal context. My goal is to recognize how English language policy requirements are being created and implemented in Chile in effort to understand the larger social issue, which is tied to the global spread of English. In order to do this, I analyze the discourses used by teachers and students at a technical- professional school in Chile, as they make sense of English and English language policy. Part of this analysis recognizes the language ideologies being indexed by these social actors, which speak to how we form our beliefs about language. In addition to examining participants' voices, I also engage in critical discourse analysis so that I can identify the public discourses being disseminated by the media and the technical-professional institute, since these ideas could influence the way in which participants understand the role of English language policy in this neoliberal context. By using ethnography, I am able to gain multiple perspectives about this phenomenon in order to better understand how to amend the policy process. As such, the findings of this study demonstrate that there are several steps that policymakers can take in order to create policy that applies to the lives and experiences of teachers and students. First, a student/teacher forum should be established so the voices of the people involved in the implementation of the policy are heard. Second, the current neoliberal curricular goals must be amended based on students’ needs. Lastly, English has to be reconceptualized according to the contexts and aspirations of students.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Educational Policy Studies

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2016

Author dc:creator

• Castro, Michelle C

Contributors dc:contributor

• McCarthy, Cameron
• Haas Dyson, Anne
• Lugo, Alejandro
• Trent, William

• Education policy
• Implementation
• Ethnography
• Language ideologies

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2016 Michelle Castro

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/90891

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/90891